The idea behind the salad challenge is that I’m challenging you (and myself) to make an enormous green salad and some homemade dressing to go with it. If you store the salad and dressing separately in the refrigerator, you’ll have salad to last you all week long. I find that I eat a lot more greens and veggies this way, and I’m more likely to grab salad as a snack than a regrettable handful of chips.

I’ve enjoyed quite a few renditions of this salad over the past few months. It was inspired by a local restaurant called Taco Republic’s “Al Verde” salad, which includes Tuscan kale, roasted golden beets, and mayo-based dressing. I always get their salad to balance out the queso and chips I inevitably-but-not-regrettably order beforehand.

I ultimately decided on some ingredients that are a little easier to find at a regular grocery store and prepare for my salad. Freshly toasted pepitas offer a savory, nutty crunch, and creamy feta and avocado make this salad irresistible. This salad isn’t the quickest salad you’ll ever make, but it pays off in sheer quantity and flavor.

I also made my dressing lighter, although it’s still deliciously creamy, thanks to an olive oil and lime juice emulsion plus a tablespoon of tahini (which is optional). The dressing is based on the jalapeño-lime dressing in my cookbook (page 53). In the book, I offered four of my favorite make-ahead salad dressings, plus a simple five-step guide to creating an epic salad. You might want a copy (wink).

I’m calling this salad “Mexican” since it seems to offer the best broad description of the ingredients and flavors inside. I can’t say I tried a salad like this when I was in Mexico six weeks ago, but it’s a huge country with a diverse and delicious cuisine. I might have to travel through all the regions until I find something similar. I’m up for the challenge!

Mexican Green Salad with Jalapeño-Cilantro Dressing

Author:Cookie and Kate

Prep Time:30 minutes

Cook Time:5 minutes

Total Time:35 minutes

Yield:6 medium salads

Category:Salad

Cuisine:Mexican

★★★★★

4.9 from 7 reviews

This healthy Mexican green salad recipe is the perfect fresh side for your favorite Mexican meals! It’s also a delicious, light meal on its own. Recipe yields 4 large salad servings, 6 medium or 8 side salads.

Ingredients

Salad

⅔ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)

½ teaspoon olive oil

½ teaspoon chili powder

Pinch of salt

5 ounces baby spring mix

6 ounces romaine lettuce, chopped

2 cups grated cauliflower (about ½ small cauliflower—you can grate it on the holes of a large box grater or finely slice it on a mandoline, then roughly chop)

2 cups finely chopped purple cabbage (about ½ small cabbage)

1 pint (2 cups) cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 small cucumber, halved, seeded and thinly sliced (no need to peel)

1 small red onion, chopped

⅔ cup crumbled feta cheese

2 ripe avocados (thinly slice just before serving)

Jalapeño-Cilantro Dressing

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup lime juice (from about 4 limes)

½ cup lightly packed cilantro (mostly leaves)

1 small jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon tahini (optional, for a more creamy dressing)

1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional, for extra heat)

Instructions

First, toast the pepitas: combine the pepitas, olive oil, chili powder and a pinch of salt in a medium skillet over medium heat. Toast the pepitas, stirring frequently (don’t let them burn), until they are turning bold on the edges and making little popping noises, about 4 to 7 minutes. Set the skillet aside to cool.

To make the dressing: Combine all of the ingredients but the red pepper flakes in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste, and add extra salt if it needs some extra oomph, and or a pinch of red pepper flakes if you’d like more heat. Blend again, then transfer to a small jar with a spout, for serving.

Divide the salad into individual bowls, top with slices of avocado, and drizzle dressing just before serving. If you intend to have leftovers, store the salad separately from the dressing, and toss individual servings with dressing just before serving. The salad will keep well this way for about 4 to 5 days.

Notes

Make it dairy free: Omit the feta cheese. You might want to add a dollop of cashew sour cream (see page 217 of my cookbook) in its place.

Make it vegan: See dairy-free instructions above, and use maple syrup instead of honey.

Change it up: Hate cilantro? Omit it! For a lighter salad, choose either the feta or avocado, instead of both. To make it extra crunchy and savory, add skillet-toasted tortilla strips or a small handful of crushed tortilla chips.

Recommended equipment: I used this mandoline to shred the cabbage and cauliflower. Mandolines are dangerous; watch your fingers at all times! (That’s an affiliate link.)

▸ Nutrition Information

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Good question! The only potentially spicy component is the jalapeño in the dressing. If you’re using a small one and removing the ribs and seeds as instructed, the dressing shouldn’t be very spicy. You could use half of the jalapeño if you’re concerned about the potential heat level.

I eat a Mexican kale salad every day for lunch and I’m always looking for new ways to put a bit of a different spin on it. I really want to dry that dressing especially! It would be easy to make a batch of it at the beginning of the week and have an easy addition!

Mmmm, this salad looks so refreshing and it’s perfect for lunch and dinner on a hot summer day. I really love the flavours of the dressing. It’s definitely something other than the usual dressings I make x Kati

This was REALLY good. The dressing made it, but so did the yummy pepitas! I did not have any tahini for the salad dressing so I used some of your cashew milk sour cream–delicious! I never would have put cauliflower rice in a salad but I certainly will again, nice touch! Yet another winning recipe Kate–Thank you!

This salad sounds excellent, although i would want to probably make only half the recipe, since there are only two of us to eat it. My favorite dressing when I’m serving Mexican food is a mole dressing I was able to recreate from video my husband took of that recipe from a dinner theater at a resort in the Cancun area. I would be happy to share it with you if you would like.

We adapted the salad based on what we had on hand (which included sunflower seeds and colby jack) but made the dressing as written, without the tahini and red pepper flakes. Will definitely be making this again–and keeping a vat of the dressing in the fridge! So yum! The perfect blend of tangy, sweet, herby, and subtly spicy. Thanks, Kate!

This Mexican salad is absolutely delicious! The dressing is to die for. Even my 26 year old son who is not a big salad eater really enjoyed it and even took some home with him. He especially liked the dressing. I added two cups of cooked quinoa to make it a little more filling as well as some fresh corn I needed to use up. I have been eating it all week for lunch and it is just perfect. I used a rather large jalapeno but removed the seeds etc and the dressing is not too spicy but has a little kick to it.